Adolph charles knothe



(No Model.) I Y I A. G. KNOTHE.

SUSPENDER PLATE AND GAST-OPR Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

fw/ue 72107 NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ADOLPH CHARLES KNOTHE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO KNOTHE BROTHERS, OF SAME PLACE.

SUSPENDER-PLATE AND CAST-OFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,231, dated February 6, 1894.

I Application filed July 8, 1898. Serial No. 479,940. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH CHARLES KN THE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suspender-Plates and Cast- Offs, of which the'following is a specification.

My lnvention relates to the class of suspender trimmingsin which the buckle or plate has a cast-off to which the tabs are secured, whereby the latter, whether those in front or in the rear, may be readily detached from the suspender by the wearer; and the object of my improvement is to provide an attaching device which will permit the castoff to. be readily attached and detached and yet prevent detachment by accident or without intention.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter and its novel features carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which serve to illustrate the invention-Figure 1 is a face v1ew of a suspender buckle and cast-off embodying my invention in its preferred form, and Fig. 2 is a vertical mid-section of the same. Fig. 3 is a face viewof the cast-off, detached. Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the operation of attachmg the castroff to the buckle. Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 illustrate a construction of the device which varies slightlyv from that seen in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a face view of the device, and Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the buckle plate. Figs. 7 and 8 are, respectively, a face view and edge view of the cast-off.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4=,X represents an ordinary suspender, A represents a suspender buckle, as a whole, and B represents the cast-off as a whole. To the cast-off are secured the usual tabs, ac, 00, adapted for .buttoning to the trousers in front.

The clamping device of the buckle A is, or may be, of the well known kind herein shown. A flat loop, a, slips over the suspender and inthe front-plate of thisloop is fulcrumed a lever-plate, a", which has teeth, a, to bite into the suspender when the lever-plate is pressed down fiat, as in Figs. 1 and2. The pendent extremity of the lever-plate a has a prong which is bent back under the plate to form a spring, a into whichis set and fixed a headed stud, a The shank of this 'stud passes through a slot or aperturein the plate a and its head is drawn down by the spring quite close to or against the outer face of said plate. In forming the aperture in the plate for the passage of the shank of the stud, I prefer not to cut away the metalentirely but to leave it attached at the upper end of the slot and to bend it back so as to form ashield, a, which takes over and back of the free end of the spring aflwhereby the latter is prevented from catching in the clothing.

The cast-off B comprises a plate, I), having in it a key-hole slot; the narrow portion b", of this slot is wide enough to admit'the passage of the shank of the stud a and the larger portion, 1), of the slot is wide enough to permit the head of said stud to pass freely through it. About this larger portion of the slot is formed a raised rib or head, 6 I prefer that this bead shall extend all the way about the opening, b', in order to give stiffness to the plate, but for my purpose only the parts of said bead adjacent to the narrow part of the slot are really required. To the plate I), is attached a loop, b ,preferably of wire,-to which are secured the usual tabs The device operates as follows: When the cast-01f is to be attached to the buckle, the head of the stud a is passed through the larger part, b, of the key-hole slot in the cast-off; this is the position of the parts seen in Fig. 4. The cast-off is then drawn down, when the portions of the bead 19 adjacent to the narrow portion of the slot will pass under the headof the stud and wedge it upward or outward, the spring a yielding to the pressure. After the bead passes below and out from under the head, the spring draws the latter down or back again. This leaves the cast-0E free to swing laterally about the shank of the stud, but before the cast-off can be disengaged the bead thereon must pass back again under the head of the stud, and while this may be efiected very readily by the wearer of the suspender, it cannot'well be effected by accident, or withoutintention.

Of course it is not absolutely essential to the invention that the spring carrying the stud shall be integral with the plate of the buckle, or that it shall project upward from its point of attachment to the plate, or that the projection or bead on the cast-off shall extend about the larger part of the slot therein. In Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 for example, a construction is shown which varies from that described in the respects mentioned above. In this form the spring a is not integral with the buckle-plate, but is secured rigidly thereto at its upper end. The head 1) extends across the narrow portion of the cast-0lf,a part of it being on each side of the narrow part of the slot. It will be understood that the spring a and stud a may be mounted on any plate on the suspender where a cast-off is required as for example at the point where the suspenders meet at the back and tabs are provided for buttoning to the trousers behind. In other words, it is not essential to the operation of the cast-0E attachment that the plate which carries the said spring and stud shall be the lever-plate of a suspender buckle, as such a plate may be secured permanently to the suspender in some cases. I have shown one important application of the castofi attachment.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination with a suspender plate, having a perforation and having a reduced spring tongue a projecting from its extremity, said spring tongue being bent up behind the body of said plate and provided with a stud a which passes through the perforation in said plate and is provided with a head or enlargement on the opposite side thereof, of a east-01f B, having in it a key-hole slot 11, adapted to receive the head and shank of the said stud a substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a suspender plate provided with a central perforation and having at one end a series of teethand at its other end a reduced portion forming a spring tongue a said tongue being bent up behind the body of said plate and provided with a stud a which passes through the perforation in said plate and is provided with a head or enlargement on the opposite side thereof, the said body being also provided with a shield or guard a which projects down and engages behind the upper extremity of the spring tongue a ,of acast-off having in it akey-hole slot 1), adapted to receive the head and shank of the said stud a substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ADOLPH CHARLES KNO'lI-IE.

Vitnesses:

HENRY CONNET'I, PETER A. Ross. 

